Singularity.FM

Some people see a world coming apart. Peter Leyden sees an old world dying so a better one can be born. That, in essence, is The Great Progression, the thesis of Peter Leyden’s forthcoming HarperCollins book and the spine of our conversation. Peter is the OG Silicon Valley futurist who came to San Francisco at the dawn of WIRED, co-authored the iconic 1997 Long Boom cover story with Peter Schwartz, and has spent three decades trying to draw a coherent map of where humanity is actually headed. His claim is audacious: we are living through a fourth reinvention of America, an event that occurs roughly every 80 years (the founding, 1865, 1945, and now 2025), driven this time by three converging general-purpose technologies: AI, clean energy, and bioengineering. Stack them together, he argues, and we are looking at a civilization-scale change on the order of the Enlightenment. The Positive Reframe: If there is a phrase to walk away with, it is this: positive reframe. Peter is not a naïve optimist. He is something more interesting: a man who has built a methodology for looking at the same chaos everyone else is looking at and pulling out the constructive story buried inside it. Trump, in his telling, is not the future but the wrecking ball that takes the political hit so the next coalition can build the next thing. AI is not the great extractor but the first technology that takes intelligence, the rarest resource we have ever known, and makes it cheap and abundant. You don’t have to agree. I pushed back hard, and he pushed back harder. Where I Pushed Back: I challenged him on three fronts: the human cost of the in-between (every 80-year reinvention he cites was paid for in blood), the myth of golden ages (drawing on Ada Palmer’s Inventing the Renaissance to argue that real breakthroughs continue past institutions rather than replace them), and the empirical record of AI in education (Denmark and Norway, both early digital classroom pioneers, are now removing devices and walking it back). Peter has answers for all three. Whether they hold is for you to judge. What We Covered: The two-line email Kevin Kelly sent that pulled Peter from Minneapolis to early WIRED The Long Boom: what it nailed and what it missed China, 35 years after Tiananmen, and why Peter would not move there today The 80-year cycle and the fourth reinvention of America The Enlightenment parallel and the six foundational inventions of the modern world Why Peter calls Trump a wrecking ball, not the future The emerging abundance politics of the next 60-40 majority coalition The strange Anglosphere pessimism about AI How Peter wrote this book using AI and was two to three times more productive: My Take: I am, as I told Peter, a pessimist of the intellect and an optimist of the spirit, in the Gramscian sense. I genuinely hope he is right. I am genuinely afraid he is not. The technology is not the hard part. The hard part is the gap between our scientific power and the wisdom to apply it without destroying ourselves. Peter has not converted me. But he has reminded me there is another way to look at it, and that the difference between hope and despair sometimes comes down to whether you can hold a positive reframe long enough to actually build something with it. You can see the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/the-great-progression-peter-leyden/

We have godlike technology. Do we have godlike responsibility to match? In this third conversation with Steven Kotler — our first in 14 years — we dig into his latest book, We Are As Gods: A Survival Guide for the Age of Abundance, co-written with Peter Diamandis. And while the book makes a powerful case for abundance, I came prepared to challenge it. Because abundance without purpose, as Kotler himself argues, is not salvation. It is a different kind of crisis. The evidence is already in. John Calhoun’s Universe 25 experiment created a perfect mouse utopia — unlimited food, water, and space, with no predators. The population boomed. Then society collapsed completely. Not from scarcity. From the absence of challenge and meaning. Calhoun’s haunting conclusion, quoted in the book: there is no logical reason a comparable sequence could not unfold for a species as complex as man. This is why it is a survival guide. I also push back on what has — and hasn’t — aged well from the original Abundance: the techno-philanthropist thesis, the formula of capital plus people plus technology, and whether the explosion of AI is actually delivering on the promise — or accelerating the dark side. As the Dalai Lama put it: “We don’t need more intelligence. We need more compassion.” And as Jerry Seinfeld added: “We’re smart enough to invent AI, dumb enough to need it, and so stupid we can’t figure out if we did the right thing.” We explore all of this — and more: What “We Are As Gods” actually means — promise, aspiration, warning, or choice? What the original Abundance got right — and what Kotler now regrets The techno-philanthropist thesis: visionaries or new robber barons? AI: overhyped, underpowered, and why the backlash is a mark of sanity Cognitive offloading and what we risk losing when machines think for us Why sustained large-scale cooperation is the killer app of the exponential age Flow, lateral thinking, and what AI simply cannot do Imagination as the final frontier — and whether it is already being colonized What struck me most about this conversation was how much we agree. For 16 years, I have argued that technology is the How, not the Why. That without the right Why, even the most powerful How does more damage than good. Kotler not only agrees — he builds on it. Cooperation at scale, he argues, requires a shared mental model, a collective Why, without which no amount of godlike technology will save us. And on the dark side of abundance, on the dangers of cognitive offloading, on the gap between our power and our wisdom to apply it — we find ourselves, repeatedly and sometimes surprisingly, on the same page. You can watch the full video of the interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/we-are-as-gods-steven-kotler/

We don’t need more AI. We need a better why for our AI. We are told the why is obvious — cure everything, fix everything, transcend everything. But “solve everything” is not a philosophy. It is an assumption. Even the most powerful intelligence cannot erase moral disagreement or competing visions of justice. Because without a why, intelligence becomes acceleration without direction. It helps us get lost faster. Technology amplifies intention. It does not supply it. It is a magnifying mirror, not a moral compass. If we don’t know our destination, no wind is favorable. We don’t need more innovation. We need better reflection. Innovation without reflection is just motion. And motion is not progress. We have mastered the art of building; we have neglected the discipline of asking whether what we build serves us — or enslaves us. We don’t need more power. We need more discipline in how we apply it. Every generation believes it deserves its tools. Few ask whether they deserve the consequences. Power scales impact. It does not scale wisdom. We don’t need more data. We need better judgment. Data tells us what is. Wisdom asks what ought to be. The distance between the two is where civilizations mature — or collapse. We don’t need more influencers. We need better thinkers. Noise is easy. Leadership is rare. Influence chases attention. Thinking demands responsibility. We don’t need more. We need to do better — with less. Less distraction. Less ego. Less blind acceleration. And perhaps most importantly: We don’t need fewer problems. We need to become better people. Problems are inevitable. Character is optional. We don’t need to live forever. We need to live better — to do better, be better, give better, and listen better. Longevity without meaning is extended entropy. The real question is not how long we live but whether our lives compound into something worth extending. The future will not be decided by how much we can build. It will be decided by who we become while building it. Intelligence scales. Wisdom does not. More is inevitable. Better is a choice.

I cancelled my ChatGPT paid subscription and switched to Claude. Not because of the technology. Because of the values — or the lack thereof. On February 27, 2026, Anthropic — the company behind Claude — refused to give the Pentagon unrestricted access to its AI for mass surveillance and autonomous killer weapons. Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei said plainly that he "cannot in good conscience" accede to a deal that would remove safeguards against domestic mass surveillance and fully autonomous weapons systems. Within hours, OpenAI's Sam Altman swooped in and took the deal. Let that sink in. One company held the line. The other sprinted to cross it. And just like that, the two biggest players in AI revealed exactly who they are. I've spent the last 17 years interviewing the world's leading thinkers on artificial intelligence on Singularity.FM — scientists, philosophers, entrepreneurs, artists, writers — brilliant people wrestling with the most consequential questions of our time. One question has always haunted every conversation: What kind of future are we actually building? Not the future we're promising. Not the future we're marketing. The future we're actually building — through our choices, our partnerships, our deals, the things we do, and the things we refuse to do. Well, here's your answer. This isn't just about one deal. It's about a pattern. OpenAI's president Greg Brockman and his wife donated $25 million to Trump's Super PAC, MAGA Inc — making them the single largest donors in the most recent report. OpenAI is the top spender behind a $125 million AI Super PAC that attacks anyone who threatens to regulate them. Meanwhile, psychiatrists are documenting "AI psychosis" — users losing touch with reality after extended chatbot interactions. And now, OpenAI is preparing to add advertisements to ChatGPT. What was once a mission-driven organization, founded as a nonprofit to develop AI for the benefit of all humanity, has abandoned that founding purpose to pursue money, political power, and Pentagon contracts. Over 1.5 million people have already cancelled or stopped using ChatGPT as part of the growing #QuitGPT movement. Claude is now the number 1 download on the App Store. OpenAI is already losing three times as much money as it earns. ChatGPT's dominance is not inevitable. It is fragile. And fragile systems respond to pressure. Cancel your ChatGPT subscription. Switch to Claude. And join the movement at https://quitgpt.org The question has never been whether AI will change the world. The question is who gets to decide how. Right now, you have a vote. Use it.

Was the Renaissance truly a Golden Age? Or was it something far more powerful — and far more revealing? In my third conversation with Ada Palmer, we dive into her new book, Inventing the Renaissance: Myths of a Golden Age, and dismantle one of the most enduring myths in Western history: that civilization moves cleanly from darkness to light. This is our third long-form discussion. If you’re new to our conversations, I highly recommend revisiting our earlier interviews here and here, which lay the groundwork for this one. But this episode isn’t really about the Renaissance. It’s about how societies construct Golden Ages and Dark Ages — and how those narratives shape power, legitimacy, and the future. The Renaissance Was Framed, Not Found “Renaissance” means rebirth. But rebirth implies death. To celebrate a Golden Age, you must first invent a Dark Age. As Ada explains, these labels were not objective descriptions. They were rhetorical tools — created by Petrarch, humanists, political actors, and later historians to legitimize their present by reshaping the past. Golden Ages are not natural phenomena. They are narratives. And narratives confer power. Why This Still Matters We do this today. We speak of: The Age of AI The End of Democracy Civilizational Collapse The Fourth Industrial Revolution Utopia and dystopia are modern versions of Golden and Dark Ages. In my essay Ignorance Is the Greatest Evil, I argue that certainty fused with power is more dangerous than malice. Golden Age narratives often operate with precisely that certainty — simplifying complexity into moral clarity. But history is rarely simple. The Renaissance itself was violent, unstable, and deeply unequal — even as it produced extraordinary art and ideas. It was neither purely Golden nor purely Dark. It was human. Manifestos, Dilemmas, and the Future Years ago, I wrote a transhumanist manifesto. It was confident, clear, and certain. Later, I returned to doubt. In Transhumanist Manifestos and Dilemmas, I reflected on how manifestos mobilize action but often erase complexity. Golden Age narratives function the same way: they inspire and legitimize — but they also oversimplify. Ada’s work does not replace one myth with another. It teaches us to question every myth — including the one we may believe we are living in now. The Real Question Are we progressing? Or are we narrating progress? Is AI our Renaissance — or will future historians label this era differently? Golden and Dark Ages are not objective states of civilization. They are constructed lenses. And once those lenses become embedded in institutions, technologies, and political movements, they stop being stories and start shaping reality. That is why they matter. Listen to our full 3-hour conversation. Then ask yourself: Who is framing our present as a Golden Age — or a Dark Age — and to what end? You can watch the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/ada-palmer-inventing-the-renaissance/

What if some contradictions are not mistakes — but truths? For over 2,500 years, Western philosophy has treated contradiction as catastrophic. From Aristotle’s law of non-contradiction to modern formal systems, logic has operated under one sacred assumption: a statement cannot be both true and false. But what if that assumption is wrong? In this deep, wide-ranging conversation, I sit down with Graham Priest, one of the world’s most influential philosophers of logic and the leading defender of dialetheism — the view that some contradictions are true. We explore: What dialetheism really means Why the liar paradox still unsettles logicians How paraconsistent logic blocks “explosion” (the idea that from a contradiction, anything follows) Whether classical logic is incomplete rather than universal What Buddhist philosophy and Nāgārjuna understood about contradiction And whether AI systems may eventually require non-classical logics to model human reasoning Far from being an abstract puzzle, the liar paradox exposes deep tensions in how we understand truth, self-reference, and rationality itself. If contradictions can be true, then the foundations of logic, mathematics, metaphysics — and even artificial intelligence — may need rethinking. We also move beyond formal systems into lived philosophy: Graham’s journey from Christianity to atheism His engagement with Buddhist thought The limits of decision theory The discipline of karate as a philosophical practice This is not merely a discussion of symbolic logic. It is a conversation about the limits of reason. About what happens when our most trusted intellectual tools reach their breaking point. And about whether embracing contradiction might expand — rather than destroy — rational inquiry. If your background is in technology, computer science, AI, or engineering, this episode may challenge assumptions you didn’t even realize you were making. If your background is in philosophy, it may unsettle what you thought was settled. And if you care about the future of thought itself, this conversation is essential. You can see the original video recording here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/graham-priest-dialetheism/ As always, you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support, you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon.

In my latest Singularity.FM conversation with Dr. Jad Tarifi, CEO of Integral AI, I heard something I don’t say lightly: a credible claim that AGI may have just arrived — or at least the foundation of it. I don’t often say “Wow” during interviews, but in this one I simply couldn’t stop. Tarifi describes a new AGI-capable model built on an architecture and learning paradigm fundamentally different from today’s large language models, and he argues it can scale toward artificial general intelligence at human-level energy efficiency. If you haven’t seen our first interview, I strongly recommend watching it first — it provides the context that makes this one hit even harder. At the heart of Tarifi’s announcement is a shift from prediction-only LLMs to an abstraction-first world model designed explicitly for AGI. Instead of cramming benchmarks, his system compresses knowledge into deep conceptual structures and then re-derives understanding when needed — a hallmark of genuine general intelligence. Layered on top is a new Interactive Learning loop: planning, taking action, generating its own training data, “dreaming” to consolidate memories, and continually updating its own weights without catastrophic forgetting. According to Tarifi, this is what allows the model to actually learn — not just infer — the way a true AGI must. Tarifi also introduces a concrete approach to AGI alignment, grounded not in rules or filters but in maximizing collective agency — freedom — for individuals and the whole. The AGI evaluates simulated futures and chooses actions that increase our ability to know, choose, act, and renew ourselves. This becomes the moral foundation for what he calls the Alignment Economy, where value is tied to how much an action increases or decreases absolute human freedom. All of this feeds into a larger AGI-driven vision: the Supernet, a global network of embodied AGI agents coordinating factories, robots, labs, homes, and infrastructure to turn human intentions into real-world outcomes. In Tarifi’s view, AGI isn’t just a digital mind — it’s an embodied, operational intelligence capable of reshaping how we work, build, learn, and create. Whether you believe this is the moment AGI truly begins or simply the start of a new chapter in the race toward artificial general intelligence, one thing is certain: Tarifi’s announcement represents a serious, technically grounded break from the “just scale LLMs harder” era. If you’re interested in AGI, this is one conversation you don’t want to miss. As always, you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support, you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon.

What happens to free will in a world where AI tells us what to watch, buy, believe, and even who to love? In this new episode of Singularity.FM, I sit down with Jacob Ward — veteran technology journalist and author of The Loop: How AI Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back — to ask a deceptively simple question: what is a choice, and what happens when we quietly hand that power to machines? Jake argues that AI is doing to our decision-making what Google Maps did to our sense of direction: turning a hard-won human capacity into a service layer we outsource by default. Drawing on decades of reporting from Silicon Valley, behavioral science labs, addiction research, and the front lines of “decision technology,” he shows how our brains are shortcut engines that love to offload hard thinking — and how AI, optimized for engagement and profit, exploits that instinct to narrow our options, dull our skills, and automate even our moral judgments. We dig into the psychology that makes us so hackable, the business models that reward “decision outsourcing,” and the cult-like belief that adding AI to anything automatically makes it better. But we also talk about what we can still do — culturally, politically, and personally — to defend human autonomy, preserve difficult choices, and protect the “friction” that makes life meaningful rather than merely efficient. In this conversation with Jacob Ward, we explore: Who Jacob Ward is and how a tech reporter became obsessed with the psychology of choice and AI The core thesis of The Loop: how AI and decision-shaping tech are shrinking the space in which real human choice lives What a “choice” actually is, why it’s rare, and how much of our lives run on unconscious autopilot The brain as a shortcut machine: why we naturally try to offload heavy cognitive work — and how apps, platforms, and algorithms weaponize that Story as both poison and cure: how narrative explains our addictions, identities, and blind spots The chilling dinner with addiction scientists hired to make consumer apps as addictive as possible Why we outsource hard moral decisions (hiring, lending, welfare, bail, custody) to opaque algorithms we don’t understand Google Maps, Spotify, Netflix & co: from convenience to skill-loss and dependency ChatGPT and the new AI wave: why Jake thought he was early, and why the cult of AI “solutionism” worries him more than the tech itself “AI will fix everything” as the ultimate cop-out: from politics and climate to governance and war Great ideas we shouldn’t pursue: the missing virtue of restraint in tech culture Stoicism, free will, and “loving fate” versus outsourcing it to machines Cultural resistance: kids calling AI “clankers,” the return of film cameras, and the hunger for authentic creativity Legal and regulatory pushback: psychological harm, AI distortion, and why insurers are already nervous How we can still fight back: defending autonomy, re-valuing effort and difficulty, and protecting the best parts of being human If you care about AI, ethics, free will, and the future of human agency, this conversation with Jacob Ward is a bracing reality check — and a reminder that protecting our ability to choose may be the most important design problem of the 21st century.

Robot Souls & Junk Code Dr. Eve Poole on Programming Humanity into AI by Nikola Danaylov

What do Facebook, Google, and TikTok really see when they look at us — and what do they miss? In this episode of Singularity.FM, Nikola Danaylov (aka Socrates) interviews Petter Törnberg, Assistant Professor of Computational Social Science at the University of Amsterdam and co-author of Seeing Like a Platform: An Inquiry into the Condition of Digital Modernity. Together they explore: How platforms have become the new eyes of power Why algorithms don’t just mirror society — they reshape it The dangers of algorithmic tyranny and invisible control The shift from industrial modernity to digital modernity Why self-organization often hides new forms of hierarchy Whether AI will become the ultimate platform of platforms How citizens, activists, and policymakers can still resist 📘 Petter’s books: Seeing Like a Platform (2025) Intimate Communities of Hate (2024) You can watch the full video recording here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/petter-tornberg/

What if the world isn’t just a stage… but a circus? 🎪 In this opening keynote at St. John’s International Circus Fest 2025, futurist and philosopher Nikola Danaylov (aka Socrates) explores why context is more powerful than content — and why those who create context don’t just win attention, they shape the future. 👉 Themes you’ll hear in this talk: Content vs. Context — why meaning, not information, defines value. STEAM over STEM — reuniting science with the arts and humanities. AI & Human Flourishing — why technology is the how, not the why. The Circus Metaphor — resilience, artistry, and transformation as lenses for our times. From Performer to Context Creator — how we can reframe the future together. 📍 Recorded live at The Well Room, St. John’s, NL on September 19, 2025. The World’s a Circus but We’re Not Just Performers, We’re Context Creators! In an age of AI-generated content, infinite data, and algorithmic noise, what truly sets us apart as human beings? In this powerful, playful, and thought-provoking keynote, futurist and bestselling author Nikola Danaylov argues that the answer is not more content—but better context. Through storytelling, neuroscience, history, and circus arts, Nikola reveals how context is the invisible force that shapes perception, meaning, and ultimately, the future.​ Drawing on everything from Renaissance humanism and McLuhan’s media theory to personal stories and plastic horse heads, this keynote challenges the myth that “content is king.” Instead, Nikola shows why meaning—not data—is our greatest asset. And circus? It’s not just performance. It’s a living metaphor for risk, awe, vulnerability, and transformation. You’ll walk away seeing circus—and your own work—not as entertainment or output, but as a vehicle for reframing reality itself. Because when you change the context, you change the story. And when you change the story… you change the future.

Adam Becker is a science journalist with a PhD in astrophysics and the author of the provocative new book More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. I reached out to Adam because I found his book sharp, timely, and necessary — a long-overdue reality check to the fantasies of techno-utopianism flooding our culture. In More Everything Forever, Becker dissects the dominant visions of the future being sold by Silicon Valley’s billionaire elite: godlike AI, digital immortality, interstellar empires, and a future populated by trillions of posthuman minds. His thesis? These aren’t scientific forecasts. They’re billionaire fever dreams—ideological weapons dressed up as inevitabilities. Drawing on over fifteen years as a science communicator and journalist, Becker traces how a fringe worldview — steeped in misunderstood sci-fi, hubris, and colonialist logic — has moved from the internet’s margins into university labs, government hearings, and mainstream media. We discuss why these ideas aren’t just wrong; they’re dangerous distractions from the real crises we face: war, climate change, inequality, and a fraying shared reality. So, if you’ve ever questioned the hype around AI overlords, Mars colonies, or techno-salvation, this conversation is for you. I hope you enjoy my interview with Adam Becker as much as I did. My favorite quotes from this conversation with Adam Becker are: Silicon Valley has confused science fiction with science — and science with branding. We are solving imaginary future problems while the world burns right in front of us. AI overlords, Mars colonies, and posthuman utopias aren’t visions of the future. They’re distractions from the present. See the video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/adam-becker/

In his second appearance on Singularity.FM, Professor Angus Fletcher returns to dive even deeper into the story of human intelligence. [See the first interview here.] Fletcher is no ordinary guest. A rare hybrid of neuroscientist and Shakespearean scholar, he has advised DARPA, Hollywood, and the U.S. Army, where his narrative-based research earned him the Commendation Medal for groundbreaking work with Special Operations. In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore the core ideas behind his bestselling book “Storythinking” and his upcoming book “Primal Intelligence” (Penguin, 2025) — and why story is not just for telling, but for thinking. We unpack how story rewires our brains, restores purpose, and can even help individuals — and entire nations — reclaim their agency in an increasingly automated world. You’ll learn: Why narrative, not logic, is humanity’s true superpower. How imagination, intuition, emotion, and common sense form a “primal intelligence” that Angus believes AI will never replicate. Why content isn’t king — context is. How “plot twists” can transform trauma into growth — individually and collectively. What happens when the U.S. military tests ancient storytelling theories on modern warriors. From ancient wisdom literature to cutting-edge neuroscience, from baking bread with ChatGPT to surviving in war zones, this conversation doesn’t just span disciplines — it connects the dots that matter most to our future. This interview is not about AI. It is about being human in the age of AI.

In this episode of Singularity.FM, I sit down with renowned author and philosopher Donald J. Robertson to explore his latest book, How to Think Like Socrates. As we navigate the crossroads of ancient wisdom and modern challenges, Donald shares timeless insights from Socrates that remain profoundly relevant in today’s age of rapid technological transformation and AI. We dive into the art of critical thinking, the value of questioning assumptions, and the ethical considerations of integrating philosophy with cutting-edge innovation. About halfway through our conversation, Donald turns the tables and starts asking me some Socratic questions, sparking a dynamic and thought-provoking exchange that takes the discussion to new depths. Together, we tackle big questions: What can Socrates teach us about living wisely in a world dominated by AI? How do we balance our pursuit of knowledge with the necessity of wisdom? And how do ancient philosophical techniques help us confront the uncertainties of our time? Whether you’re a fan of philosophy, curious about the future, or looking to deepen your understanding of critical thinking in the digital age, this episode offers a rich dialogue packed with insights and practical takeaways. Join us as we explore the enduring legacy of Socrates and its implications for humanity’s evolving relationship with technology. You can watch the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/donald-j-robertson/

In this episode of Singularity.FM, Neil Redding, a near futurist and innovation architect, joins Nikola Danaylov for an insightful exploration into the intersections of technology, ecosystems, and human agency. With over 30 years of experience unlocking the transformative power of emerging technologies, Neil offers a fresh perspective on what it means to co-create reality in an increasingly interconnected world. Throughout the conversation, Neil discusses his journey from studying computer science and philosophy to becoming a thought leader in near futurism. He explains how his work bridges the possible and the practical, helping brands and individuals adapt to the rapid pace of technological change. Topics covered include the implications of spatial computing, the convergence of digital and physical ecosystems, and the role of AI in shaping our collective future. Neil also delves into the ethical dimensions of innovation, emphasizing the need for ecosystem-centered thinking and responsible co-creation. Together, Nikola and Neil examine humanity’s greatest challenges, from polarization to sustainability, offering actionable insights on how to navigate the accelerating future. Don’t miss this compelling dialogue that challenges conventional thinking and invites us all to participate in shaping the future. Tune in for an engaging and thought-provoking episode. If you want to see the full video interview, click here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/neil-redding

In this thought-provoking episode of Singularity.FM, I sit down with Dr. Jad Tarifi, CEO and co-founder of Integral AI, to explore the cutting-edge developments at the intersection of artificial intelligence and human potential. Dr. Tarifi shares insights into Integral AI’s mission to create foundation world models for real-world applications and the profound implications of achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI). Our conversation delves into a wide array of topics, including: The essence of intelligence and its evolution into artificial and general forms. The challenges of AGI alignment and the importance of fostering collective human wisdom. Dr. Tarifi’s personal journey from growing up in war-torn Lebanon to becoming a pioneer in AI. The philosophical and practical dimensions of art, science, and technology as co-authors of our shared reality. Why Integral AI believes we now have all the components necessary to achieve AGI—and what that means for humanity’s future. Dr. Tarifi’s perspective is not only informed by his extensive academic and professional background but also deeply rooted in his lifelong curiosity about the nature of reality. He emphasizes that AGI is not the endpoint but a new beginning for humanity, offering unprecedented opportunities and risks. Join us for a compelling discussion that challenges conventional thinking and illuminates the path toward a future shaped by the convergence of intelligence, creativity, and freedom. You can see the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/jad-tarifi/

In this episode of Singularity FM, I speak with emotional intelligence (EQ) expert, executive coach, and keynote speaker Jamelle Lindo about the evolving role of EQ in our age of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence. While much of today’s discourse around AI focuses on technical prowess, data-driven decision-making, and automation, Jamelle highlights why understanding our inner emotional landscapes—and those of others—may be more critical now than ever. We begin by tracing Jamelle’s personal journey, from his early struggles with social anxiety and insecurity to discovering the power of emotional literacy. Rather than seeing emotions as messy obstacles, he learned to view them as valuable sources of data about our values, needs, and mental states. That realization informed his personal development and later became the cornerstone of his approach to leadership coaching. Throughout our conversation, Jamelle demystifies emotional intelligence, why it’s trainable, and how it can provide a critical edge for those navigating the complexity and uncertainty of the 21st century workplace. As technological tools—from AI-assisted apps to predictive analytics—reshape every industry, leaders who cultivate empathy, self-awareness, and emotional resilience will stand apart. Jamelle explains that EQ isn’t a “soft” or “nice-to-have” skill; it’s a strategic capability that underpins effective communication, talent development, organizational culture, and business outcomes. We also discuss how AI might both challenge and enhance our EQ. On the one hand, automated systems can handle routine tasks and provide objective data, freeing up humans to focus on what we do uniquely well: build trust, inspire teams, and tackle nuanced ethical dilemmas. Conversely, the potential rise of “emotionally intelligent” AI agents forces us to ask: what does it mean to be human in an era where technology can mimic and sometimes surpass our cognitive and emotional capabilities? Join us as we explore how to cultivate deeper emotional intelligence amid exponential change, what it takes to show up authentically as a leader, and how EQ might help us maintain a truly human edge in a future where humans and AI increasingly work side by side. You can see the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/jamelle-lindo/

Fifteen years ago, I penned the first versions of Hamlet’s Transhumanist Dilemma and A Transhumanist Manifesto. Much has changed since then, including my perspective. I began with a question inspired by Hamlet: Will technology replace biology? At the time, I believed this to be the modern iteration of Shakespeare’s existential query: to be or not to be. Since death is a tragedy, I believed technology was our only escape. Yet, I feared choosing technology over biology might exact a heavy toll—a Faustian bargain. I worried that transitioning from human to transhuman—or cyborg—might cost us something precious and unique, something not worth trading even for immortality. Hence, I titled the piece Hamlet’s Transhumanist Dilemma, believing there was no definitive answer and that each person must determine their own path. A few months later, convinced I had found the answer, I dove headfirst into transhumanism. Everything seemed straightforward—black and white. As Transhumanist Party Chairman Gennady Stolyarov II succinctly put it: “Death is wrong, and life is right.” Right. The issue with dilemmas is their lack of clear answers. They are uncomfortable and excellent at posing questions but poor at providing solutions. In contrast, manifestos leave no room for doubt. They are straightforward calls to action, confident in their solutions. Immersed in the transhumanist narrative, I wrote my manifesto, urging my fellow transhumanists to unite and break the ‘chains of biology and death.’ Fifteen years later, I find myself almost back where I began. [I guess, at least in some ways, life is a circle.] Yes, it is still true that dilemmas may not offer clear guidance, but they are authentic, raw, and honest. They reflect the complexity of our world—a world without a GPS to guide us into the future, where answers are often free, but good questions are priceless. Dilemmas call for introspection, while manifestos call for action. Manifestos are idealistic, romantic and convenient. Worse, they are often naïve, simplistic, and utopian—dangerously so. They inspire focus and action but frequently lack introspection and justification. Perhaps I’m getting old, but lately, I see much action taken without much introspection. The kind of action that is ready to use violence to build a new world on the ruins of the current one. Yet, the world is never as simple as manifestos suggest, especially after the revolutionary (i.e., destructive) phase is over, and we must eventually build something. And so I’ve returned to dilemmas as a better way to face the future. Because the world is transformed by asking questions. And because, as Richard Feynman noticed, it is better to have questions we have no answers for than answers we can’t question. So, I’m back to Hamlet. Back to doubt, uncertainty, paradox, and the possibility of being wrong. What about you? Are you up for revolution or introspection? Do you embrace the paradox or prefer clear answers? See the original video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/on-manifestos-and-dilemmas/ Hamlet’s Transhumanist Dilemma: Will Technology Replace Biology? [Redux] https://www.singularityweblog.com/hamlet-transhumanist-dilemma-will-technology-replace-biology/ A Transhumanist Manifesto [Redux] https://www.singularityweblog.com/a-transhumanist-manifesto/

Technology is the new religion, Silicon Valley – the new Promised Land, and entrepreneurs – the new prophets. They promise a future of abundance and immortality—a techno-heaven beyond our wildest dreams. And we are all believers. We often forget technology is the how, not the why or what. It is a means to an end, not an end in itself. ‘Technology’ comes from two Greek words: ‘techne,’ meaning art, skill, or craft, and ‘logos,’ meaning word, discourse, or expression. Literally, technology means ‘discourse about the way things are achieved.’ Today, we have strayed from this original meaning, leading to a fundamental shift in perception. Technology is no longer a means to an end; it has become an end in itself. People often say, “I am a big believer in technology,” as if it were a deity. This mindset blurs the line between using technology and worshipping it. I am a huge fan and user of technology, but I do not worship it. Worship leads to mindless slavery, and I want to master technology, not be enslaved by it. However, our civilization may already be on a different path. In the past, actions were often justified as ‘God’s will.’ Today, we act because ‘technology wants it.’ The inevitability once attributed to divine will is now ascribed to technological progress. [Philip K. Dick wisely noted, “Just because something bears the aspect of the inevitable, one should not go along willingly with it.”] Just as fulfillment in Christianity comes from following God, today we ‘follow’ technology. But in both cases, this can lead to enslavement. Are we masters, or merely tools of our tools? Are we fetishizing technological objects, creating personality cults around techno-prophets, and falling for new techno-religions? As Nassim Taleb remarked, “The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free.” These are the questions I hope to raise, and I encourage you to ask them, too. Because the world is transformed by asking questions, and technology is not enough. The moment we stop questioning, we risk becoming slaves. As Arthur C. Clarke warned: Before you become entranced with gorgeous gadgets and mesmerizing video displays, let me remind you that information is not knowledge, knowledge is not wisdom, and wisdom is not foresight. Each grows out of the other, and we need them all. Technology excels at providing what we want but often falls short in giving us what we need. It can supply information and knowledge, but it struggles to provide wisdom. Technology helps us live easier, more comfortable, and longer lives, but it doesn’t tell us why we should live or what to do with our lives. Most importantly, technology does not make us happy—there is no app for happiness. If such an app ever existed, Nassim Taleb’s warning about the path to slavery would be even more relevant. Intelligence can help us achieve our desires, but it is wisdom that guides us in determining what we should desire. Intelligence is valuable only when coupled with wisdom. Without the wisdom to discern what we should and should not want, possessing the intelligence to obtain it can lead to self-destruction. The day humanity becomes the how and technology becomes the why or what is the day our freedom ends. The tool will have become the purpose, and the purpose will have become the tool. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain a clear perspective on our priorities and fight for them. See the original video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/technology-is-the-how/

Throughout history, capital and labor have been interdependent forces driving economic growth. Capital relies on labor to generate returns on investment, while labor depends on capital for wages. Despite historical fluctuations in their balance of power, classical economics suggests a theoretical long-term equilibrium where both parties benefit—capital sees growing returns, and labor enjoys rising wages. But is this equilibrium sustainable in the face of rapid technological advancements? The post-World War II era, particularly from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, exemplifies the mutual benefit of capital and labor. This period saw unprecedented economic growth and a significant rise in the standard of living for the baby boomer generation in North America. However, starting in the 1970s, the balance of power shifted towards capital. This shift was marked by productivity gains increasingly benefiting returns on investment while wages stagnated. As a result, the once-synchronized growth of productivity and wages decoupled, favoring capital over labor and increasing income inequality and social stratification. This was a substantial quantitative change with proportionally substantial quantitative social implications. Today, we are approaching a qualitatively different watershed moment that will fundamentally shift the balance of power and have profound social and political implications. For the first time in history, technological advancements like AI and robotics enable capital to create labor rather than hire it. This shift disrupts the traditional labor-capital relationship, leading to ‘technological unemployment,’ where machines and AI replace human labor across various industries. The longstanding relationship of mutual co-dependence between capital and labor will be profoundly altered, and the equilibrium taught by classical economics will no longer hold, even in theory. The incentive for paying wages diminishes as technologies like AI and robotics increase productivity while reducing costs. It’s like having workers who produce more and more while getting paid less and less. The best part for capital is the ability to create and multiply its own ‘labor’ force or cut it when needed, increasingly faster and cheaper. Humans are not required. Some argue we have heard similar Luddite concerns before, and historically, technological advances have worked out for the better. However, today’s technological unemployment fundamentally differs from past labor disruptions, such as those during the Industrial Revolution. In the past, displaced workers transitioned from one type of manual job to another, as capital still needed human labor to operate machines, oversee production, and manage resources. Today, machines can autonomously perform these tasks. Production is monitored by sensors, and resource allocation and management are handled by AI, reducing the need for human labor to the point of potential obsolescence. The speed and depth of change we are experiencing today, combined with an accelerating pace, means we will witness much more happen in a much shorter timeframe than during the Industrial Revolution. This is not simply about replacing some manual jobs with others; it’s about making most human jobs obsolete across all industrial levels—from cashiers and production-line workers to accountants, brokers, lawyers, insurance and real estate agents, consultants, doctors, and even CEOs. Such a fundamental change, occurring over a few decades, will have revolutionary political and social implications, similar to how the Industrial Revolution spawned various social movements, uprisings, and political revolutions... Read the rest of the article and watch the original video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/tech-unemployment/

I have now been vegan for 8 or 9 years and people keep asking me how I feel and why I did it. So let me share a quick health update as well as the original 6 reasons why I went vegan. Well, since going vegan I have lost and kept off 25 pounds or about 12 kgs. My body fat has gone down from about 22% to about 14%. My blood pressure went down from about 130 over 90 to about 115 over 75. My resting heart rate has dropped 5 beats to about 52. My BMI dropped almost 2 points to 22. My iron went up. My calcium went up. My triglycerides went down. My overall cholesterol went down. My sugar is stable at 5.1. Even my urologist said that my PSA is like that of a teenager. Now, to be fair, not everything in my bloodwork is perfect and I am still very much struggling with and testing different nutritional protocols to get my LDL marker into the optimal range. However, at 48, I feel subjectively better, people often tell me that I look better, and my bloodwork is objectively better today than when I was 35 years old. So those are the effects of veganism on my health after almost 9 years. Now, let me share my original 6 reasons why I went vegan, and feel free to let me know if you agree or disagree as well as your experience and your reasons as to why you would or you wouldn’t go vegan yourself 😉 Read the rest here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/6-reasons-why-i-went-vegan/

I have noticed that almost every startup in almost every industry is claiming “a revolutionary AI or blockchain breakthrough.” [Often both.] More recently I’m flabbergasted to see a similar fad in the growing number of self-proclaimed Tech and AI ethicists. We apparently have an exponential proliferation of what someone called “ethics natives” such as angel investor ethicists, venture capital ethicists, startup ethicists, bitcoin ethicists, blockchain ethicists, unicorn ethicists, AI ethicists, design ethicists, IPO ethicists, etc. Here is the thing: At the end of the day, there is really no such thing as tech ethics. Just like there is no angel investor, venture capital, startup, blockchain, or IPO ethics. There is, really, only ethics. And bullshit ethics. Yes, you can name legitimate examples of branching off such as bioethics. But the reason why they are subdisciplines of ethics is the recognition that there are some overarching principles or an overriding framework that comes first and is primary. It is only then that we have the specific context of medicine, technology, or anything else you’d like to consider. Yes, context is important but it is always secondary because ethics is the context-independent universal foundation or framework which allows you to evaluate any particular and unique problem in ethical terms. So, if you don’t have the foundation that gives meaning, contextual considerations are useless, perhaps damaging. And to the degree that we have made progress in fields such as bioethics, it is because we started with a very strong foundation in ethics. But most AI or Tech “ethicists” can’t even define what ethics is. Even worse – many of them “teach” ethics by starting with the trolley dilemma, euthanasia, abortion, human enhancement, genetic manipulation, etc. But without the foundational framework, the result is only ignorance masquerading as knowledge. So we end up being oblivious to how much we don’t know. And we don’t know that we don’t know because we are obsessed with the specifics of the context while the actual foundation is, at best, an afterthought and, at worse, completely ignored. We arrive at the modern misperception that there is ethics and that there is “applied ethics.” There is not. Because if you can’t apply it, if you can’t use it, it is not ethics. Ethics is practical. It is not a theory. It means “a way of life” [so if it is not lived, it is dead – i.e., not ethics]. It means a group of principles or a “moral code of behavior” concerned with one’s personal character. That is what êthos (ἦθος) means – “character” or [moral] “nature.” That is the original meaning of ethics – ēthikós (ἠθικός) – “relating to one’s character.” So every time you wonder if something is ethics ask yourself: Is this practical advice on how to live my life? Does it relate to the moral nature of my personal or our collective character? Does it provide a code of behavior or a set of principles that can inform and guide me [or us] through hard decisions and situations? If the answer is “No” then chances are it is not ethics. Certainly not in the original meaning of the word as coined by the ancient Greeks. A meaning which we have apparently forgotten but, I believe, we must revive. Read the rest here:https://www.singularityweblog.com/ethics/

Dr. Martin Shaw is the best oral storyteller that I know of. He is also the only person who can impromptu tell the entire Odyssey by his imagination alone. Martin is well versed in a variety of stories from classic Greek to pagan, indigenous, and religious ones. He is the author of 18 books and one of the very few people who make a living as a modern raconteur for audiences across the world. During this 1 hour conversation with Dr. Martin Shaw, we cover a variety of exciting topics such as: how he became a storyteller and started making a living as a bard; why stories matter; myth as a beautiful lie that tells a deeper truth, a truth that works without the use facts; living in a tent close to the Earth as a formative experience; why the world needs healing and how story can do that; the distinctions between growth and depth, story and myth; worshiping technology and tools becoming deities; the problems of Humanism and AI-ism; story as a sacred event with “a service code.” My favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with Dr. Martin Shaw are: "Stories deepen with you if they are of great quality." "Every culture before they were literate collected the things that really mattered and codified them in stories to pass them down." "Revery leads to participation." To show your support, you can subscribe, write a review on iTunes or make a donation: https://www.singularityweblog.com/donate-and-support-singularity-weblog/

When I started blogging and podcasting back in 2009 topics like wisdom were near-invisible, if not considered irrelevant to the conversations of AI, transhumanism, genetic engineering, human enhancement, and so on. So bringing ethics to the technology conversation became my longstanding goal and unique selling proposition for both Singularity Weblog and Singularity.FM. At the time, most conversations were about the how and when – i.e. the technicalities and timeline, not the why – i.e. the wisdom and ethics related to the technological singularity. The prevailing romanticism was the belief that utopia is within our reach and the main obstacles were of scientific, technological, or legislative nature. So if we were to let inventors, entrepreneurs, markets, and Moore’s Law do their thing without any government or other interference we would reach THE Future – a place that is “better than we think” – with abundance, freedom, flying cars, robots, space exploration, and immortality for all. Fifteen years later, the Singularitarian romanticism has been replaced by popular skepticism, if not outright cynicism. Given that the gap between our collective power and our ability to use it in a non-destructive, net-positive manner is growing, we need wisdom and ethics more than ever. I believe that this is not a mere philosophical exercise but one of life and death for many species, possibly all life on our planet. That is why I want to discuss wisdom and ethics more than ever. And there are few better people for this kind of conversation than Kevin Kelly. Kevin is a radical optimist who has been twice before on my podcast when we discussed his books on technology. This time around his most recent book aims to provide Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I’d Known Earlier. During this 90 min conversation with Kevin Kelly, we cover a variety of exciting topics such as: wisdom as the long-term view of the true, good, and beautiful for the maximum people and time; consistency, ideology, and thinking; learning from those you disagree with; Christianity, evolution and creationism; intelligence, wisdom and AI; our individual and collective power to affect change; whether AI, Nuclear Weapons or Climate Change are existential risks; the Cult of Personality in the East and the West; mirrors, selfies, Zoom and Narcism; AI and the Singularity; the gap between our wisdom and technological power. My favorite quote that I will take away from this conversation with Kevin Kelly is: Work on something (or head in a direction) that has no name. As always, you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support, you can write a review on iTunes or become a patron: https://www.singularityweblog.com/donate-and-support-singularity-weblog/

My goal with this podcast has always been to be a bit of a gadfly to your as well as my intellectual growth and, hopefully, a midwife to your best ideas rather than a disseminator of a specific movement or ideology. Thus, while I’ve never hidden my personal views, I don’t try to make you a believer and follower but simply to provide important and helpful people and ideas for your consideration. What you do then is, of course, entirely up to you. Émile Torres is a philosopher and historian whose work focuses on existential threats to humanity. During this 2-hour conversation with Émile, we cover a variety of exciting topics such as escatology and teleology; determinism and inevitability; Kurzweil’s timeline and the ultimate end of the Universe; ChatGPT and AGI; the Rapture and Émile’s Baptist upbringing; watching out for our own biases and blindspots; Transhumanism, Religion, and Eugenics; the problems with defining, measuring, and boasting about (your) intelligence; Nick Bostom’s racism, narcissism, integrity, and dubious math in papers such as Astronomical Waste; the nature and danger of existential risks; the dangers of (Radical) Longtermism. As always, you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support, you can write a review on iTunes or become a patron: https://www.singularityweblog.com/donate-and-support-singularity-weblog/

My podcast guest today is Nikolas Badminton. Nik is the Chief Futurist at futurist.com. He has worked with over 300 organizations in foresight, strategy, and disruption – including NASA, the United Nations, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Rolls Royce, and many others. Nik is a friend of mine, and in addition to our common interest in the future, we share a few other passions, such as cycling and certain types of music and books. Speaking of books, Badminton’s new book, Facing Our Futures, is a hot new release on Amazon, and during our conversation today, we will discuss some of the great tools and lessons Nik has for us there. During this 90-min conversation with Nikolas Badminton, we cover a variety of exciting topics such as being a futurist and a hope engineer; the benefits of riding a bicycle; the poverty of our imagination; his 50 Life Lessons from a 50-Year-Old Futurist; futurism vs. foresight; Karl Schroeder, the California Ideology and the ‘singular’ future; the greatest challenges humanity is facing today; his book Facing our Futures; the positive-dystopian framework and stretching our horizons; backcasting, futures consciousness and why imagination is a superpower. My favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with Nikolas Badminton are: "Futurism is activism." "Hope is nothing without imagination." "Nostalgia is the greatest threat to futurist thinking." To show your support, you can subscribe to my channel, write a review on iTunes or become a patron: https://www.singularityweblog.com/donate-and-support-singularity-weblog/

This is my 4 min video pitch for the 2023 Nordic Business Forum Speaker Contest. Hope you enjoy it 😉 The Greatest Leadership Opportunity in the 21st Century A story I stumbled on in 2006 changed my life. “The Singularity is Near” by Ray Kurzweil totally blew my mind. It gave me insight into cool new tech like AI. It gave me meaning, purpose and community. It explained the world and who I was. It also told me I could live forever. Eventually, I noticed the religious elements of the singularity and its theology of techno-messiahs, Gods, resurrection, and, ultimately, salvation. It provides the same utility, uses the same mechanisms, serves the same function, and has the same power as religion. This new awareness made me seek the underlying process, and I discovered story. I felt like fish suddenly becoming aware of water. I started noticing how story permeates everything. That is why two people can share the same experience but construct different meanings. This insight led me to my most profound realization: that our current planetary crisis is a story crisis. A story crisis because we can see our current story ends in our demise, yet we can’t agree on a better one. So, we find ourselves between stories, or what Jonah Sachs calls “the myth gap.” On such occasions, the human story gets rewritten, and we end up with a revolution. For example, the last major iteration of our story dates to the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. Because as Kenneth Burke noted: “Stories are equipment for living. Human beings need storytelling […] to make […] sense out of life.” But our equipment for living has gone obsolete. And unless we upgrade it, we are going to go obsolete too. Take Climate Change. We have the science. We know what we must do. We know the consequences. We have most tools to make a difference now. Yet we bicker and take insufficient action. That’s because our fragmented stories fail to create shared meaning. No shared meaning, no shared action, and no resolution to our shared problem. But most of our existential issues – like nuclear weapons, pandemics, species extinction or Climate Change, are shared and global. That is why many find Climate Change depressing. Because we cannot imagine a common story where our global predicament comes to a happy end. That is also why we must ReWrite the Human Story – a new, shared, global story to unite, inform and guide us. This is the greatest leadership opportunity of the 21st century. Because just like sunflowers are heliotropic and orient themselves towards the sun, we humans are storytropic and orient ourselves towards story. Now, our story can have many names: the Singularity, God, Democracy, Human Rights, the Blockchain or Let’s Make America Great Again. But we all turn to story as our compass. Today our old myths are falling apart. When the stories that are our social glue fall apart, we fall apart. Because there were civilizations without the wheel, guns, steel, or the internet, but there were no civilizations without story. So, the story I propose is the Multiplicity. But what is the story you propose? For more like this go here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/rewriting-the-human-story-how-our-story-determines-our-future/

Prof. Massimo Pigliucci is one of those very rare people who manage to combine the pursuit of deep science and the living ethos of practical philosophy. Massimo has Ph.D. degrees in Genetics, Evolutionary Biology, and Philosophy. He is also the author of hundreds of technical papers in both science and philosophy as well as a number of books including most recently, The Quest for Character: What the Story of Socrates and Alcibiades Teaches Us About Our Search for Good Leaders. During this 1-hour conversation with Massimo Pigliucci, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as Mas Maiorum – i.e. “the way of the ancestors” and whether it is a kind of an organizing story; the need for a new global story and whether virtue and character can help solve problems such as Climate Change; the impact of role-models such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.; whether we can teach virtue [or anything] by demonstrating the “how” or the “what” [or both]; transhumanism and AI as technocrat solutions to engineering out humanity’s flaws. As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes or become a patron: https://www.singularityweblog.com/donate-and-support-singularity-weblog/

https://gogetfunding.com/help-a-ukrainian/ When the war in Ukraine started, I asked myself if I could do anything to help. I have no friends or family in Ukraine, but I remember that a couple of years ago, I was interviewed by someone from Donetsk. When I got in touch with Alexander Padalka, he was hiding underground from the daily shelling and bombing, and for months, he was surviving on rotten food and dirty water. Alex had lost a lot of weight, and his health was deteriorating. On top of it all, he is legally blind because he has retinis pigmentosa, which is an eye disease where one can have some peripheral vision but looking straight ahead he is completely blind. Given his dire situation, Alex told me he was ready to die because he had no idea if or how he could stay alive, let alone escape. But that was my opportunity to help. I shared his story with my network, and a very generous person reached out. Now, I can't share many details of this dangerous operation. All I can say is that some brave people risked their lives to get Alex out. His rescue cost 54,000 USD to put into motion and we had no guarantee of success. But after a month of planning, we were able to get Alex out of Donetsk and into Poland. In Warsaw, we connected Alex to generous people who set him up with a place to live and three hot meals per day. They even paid for him to visit many doctors, including eye specialists, because after his ordeal Alex was very weak and had lost even his peripheral vision. Now the good news is that after several months of eating good food, drinking clean water, and sleeping in a safe place, Alex has recovered his health and even a tiny part of his peripheral vision. But we are hoping we can help more. Alex has already had two ultraviolet corneal cross-linking surgeries, and, most recently, he did an $800 DNA test. The test results will take a couple of months, but we hope a new adenovirus genetic treatment could help him recover some or most of his eyesight. The problem is that it costs well over 10,000 Euros, and everyone involved has already spent thousands and given as much as we can. So, unfortunately, we have run out of money. That is why I need your help. Now, you can say that Alex is just one person and the whole country of Ukraine needs help. And this is true. But a country consists of individual people, and Alex is one very good person who needs our help now. Plus, we know what to do. We know where we can do it. And we know how to do it. All we need is your help to get it done. We promise that all donations will go directly to Alex's bank account in Poland, and neither I nor anyone else will have access. Thus, with your help, I believe that a month from now, right on time for Xmas and in the spirit of giving, we can give Alex the chance to see again. That is why I feel very privileged to be a small part of a group of generous people helping him for the past six months. I am proud to say that we managed to save his life. Please join us and help save his sight. Thank you very much in advance! https://gogetfunding.com/help-a-ukrainian/

Ursula Eysin is the founder of Red Swan, a consultancy focusing on the development of future scenarios. She is a trained ballerina, plays the flute, speaks 7 languages, does math, and reads chemistry books for fun. Besides that, Ursula is a mentor to various Austrian and international startups while also giving lectures at 5 universities. During this 2-hour conversation with Ursula Eysin, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as how she got to be a polyglot and a Sinologist; why the future could but should not be Chinese; her mission to help humans connect and turn uncertainty into an advantage; how she started her Red Swan consultancy; why predicting the future is a powerless position; futurism vs scenario planning and the methodology thereof; the meaning of being human and our need to connect; the demand for strong leadership and women in futurism; the importance of story; AI, its risks and timeline. My favorite quote that I will take away from this conversation with Ursula Eysin is: Turn uncertainty into an advantage. See it as a gift. And connect to other people. As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation: https://www.singularityweblog.com/donate-and-support-singularity-weblog/

Zoltan Istvan is a former journalist, political candidate, entrepreneur, bestselling author, and founder of the US Transhumanist Party. He has been on this podcast twice before when we discussed Istvan’s presidential campaign and his bestselling novel The Transhumanist Wager. During this 1-hour conversation with Zoltan Istvan, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as the challenge of doing graduate school at Oxford, Quantum Archaeology; Trump, transhumanism, politics, and conflict; the Immortality or Bust documentary; microchipping refugees and selling off public lands; the ethics of doing damage now in the hope of fixing it later; technosolutionism and why Technology is Not Enough; longevity, entrepreneurship, and healthcare; the distinction between a body with a brain vs a brain with a body; the timeline to AGI, mind-uploading and indefinite life extension. As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron: https://www.singularityweblog.com/donate-and-support-singularity-weblog/

The Singularity Principles is a unique, comprehensive, and principled framework for riding the tsunami of change coming our way, instead of drowning in it. It is a one-of-a-kind work written by a person who is singularly qualified with the necessary knowledge, professional experience, and required discipline to produce it. David Wood is a futurist, catalyst, author, and singularitarian. He has written a total of 11 books and we have already had two rewarding conversations on Singularity.FM. So, as soon as you finish this fantastic interview you may want to check out our previous ones here: David Wood on Transcending Politics and David Wood on Transhumanism. During this 2-hour conversation with David Wood, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as the story behind the Singularity Principles; David’s concern we’re losing control over our tech; the greatest danger to humanity; techno-solutionism and the gap between our power and our wisdom; the usefulness of ethics; why the proactionary principle is insufficient; Moore’s Law and Demi Moore’s Law; the Transhumanist and the Singularitarian Stances; the AI Alignment and Control Problems; Wood’s definition of the Singularity; Christopher Columbus’ Quest and the importance of story with respect to AI. One of my favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with David Wood is his definition of the singularity: The profound change in the human condition triggered by the advent of greater-than-human intelligence. As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron: https://www.singularityweblog.com/donate-and-support-singularity-weblog/

This is an interview with Danko Nikolic and John Smart on the future of AI and their respective theories of Practopoiesis – Neuromimicry, and Autopoiesis – Biomimicry. During our 2-hour conversation with Danko and John, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as evolution, development, and life as a network; practopoiesis and the origins of intelligence; the power-law problem with too many AI parameters; whether we need a new non-von-Neuman hardware design or not; John’s Natural Intelligence Hypothesis; Danko’s Robots Go Mental and guided transfer learning; consciousness and emotional AI; biomimicry, neuromimicry and the AI Alignment Problem; education, progress and asking questions. My favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with Danko Nikolic and John Smart are: "The critical survivor of the Evo-Devo system is the network. Life is a network." and "Consciousness is the price to pay for intelligence." As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/singularityfm

Prof. Lewis Dartnell is an astrobiologist who looks for life on distant planets. In his most recent book, however, Dartnell turns his gaze inward and backward to the human story – who we are, how we came to be, where we are coming from, and, most importantly, how the geological planetary processes drove the evolution of humanity and set the stage where our culture, politics, science, technology, and economics later came to play. During our 85-min conversation with Lewis Dartnell, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as our Origins: How the Earth Shaped Human History; the associations between US domestic politics and 75-million-old rocks; the Anthropocene and Climate Change; the existential challenges that humanity is facing today; AI and consciousness; intelligence as a survival function of settings your priorities; The Knowledge and how to rebuild a civilization; Alien Life and whether we are the lone intelligent species; colonizing Mars and the minimum viable number of people; story, science, music, and ethics; why the world is transformed by asking questions. My favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with Lewis Dartnell are: "We’re children of plate tectonics" and "Humanity survives on eating grass" As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron: https://www.singularityweblog.com/donate-and-support-singularity-weblog/

Without a doubt, the social revolution in the West and individual insight/enlightenment in the East are among humanity’s greatest accomplishments. But we can have them separate no longer for we desperately need both because individual people make society but, in turn, society makes individuals. We need to unite the quest for personal enlightenment and the revolutionary zeal toward progress and systemic change to survive and thrive in the 21st century. This is what Prof. David Loy has spent his life trying to accomplish – i.e. to bridge the gap between the East and the West, Buddhism and modernity, personal enlightenment, and systemic change. And that is why I decided to interview him on SingularityFM. During our 2-hour conversation with David Loy, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as climate change and the most dangerous moment of our civilization; his journey from analytic philosophy to Buddhism; responding appropriately and the need for some kind of contemplative practice to guide us; Buddhism, the 3 poisons and bringing down wisdom from the top of the mountain; his 3 tips for EcoSattva; despair and having no expectations, Jundo’s suggestion for brain-implants and the gamification of Enlightenment; existential risks, AI, democracy and colonizing Mars; the delusion of separation and minimizing suffering; why the world is made of stories. My favorite quote/question that I will take away from this conversation with David Loy is: How do I respond appropriately? [Isn’t that question pointing at the very essence of wisdom that every challenge demands of us?!] As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/singularityfm

Byron Reese is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, and futurist. He has enjoyed a wide range of success over 30 years, including two NASDAQ IPOs as well as the sale of three companies he founded. Today Byron is the CEO of JJ Kent, a venture-backed company using AI to create new products. Reese is also the author of four books on technology and his newest title Stories, Dice and Rocks That Think launches in August. During our 2-hour conversation with Byron Reese, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as why entrepreneurship is mostly failing and trying again; the power of habit and writing every day; the inception of Stories, Dice and Rocks That Think; Homo Erectus and the Acheulean Axe; Hellen Keller’s moving story; the birth of consciousness and “the Stoned Ape Theory;” dice, probability and the mathematization of everything; clocks, punctuality and the top-down creation of social virtues; why Byron is a techno-optimist but AI-skeptic; utopia, progress and messing things up. As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/singularityfm

I have always wanted to discuss Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy and how it relates to technology and transhumanism. The problem is that a very short list of people will make me enjoy such a challenging conversation. Luckily, Dr. Cadell Last is among the top on that shortlist so I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. During our 2-hour conversation with Cadell Last, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as his early fascination for the strange phenomenon of humanity; discovering Darwin, Kurzweil, and Transhumanism; Nietzsche as the death of philosophy and the birth of psychology; the importance of primary sources when studying the great minds; Atheism and the tragedy of the death of God; Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Cadell’s philosophy course on it; mistakes and failures as a sort of reward and a source of becoming; the Overman as a clearing for any possibility; the wise men, the rabble, and freedom; organic vs mechanical virtues; human as a bridge from the animal to the Overman; differences and similarities between the Overman and the Transhuman; ReWriting the Human Story. My favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with Cadell Last is: The path of overcoming lies between identity and difference! As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/singularityfm

Joscha Bach is a beautiful mind and a very rewarding interlocutor. No surprise I had many requests to have him back on my podcast. I apologize that it took 4 years but the good news is we are going to have a third conversation much sooner this time around. If you haven’t seen our first interview with Joscha I suggest you start there before you watch this one. Enjoy and don’t hesitate to let me know what you think. During our 2-hour conversation with Joscha Bach, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as his new job at Intel as an AI researcher; whether Moore’s Law is dead or alive; why he is first and foremost a human being trying to understand the world; the kinds of questions he would like to ask God or Artificial Superintelligence; the most recent AI developments and criticisms from Gary Marcus, Marvin Minsky, and Noam Chomsky; living in a learnable universe; evolution and the frame problem; intelligence, smartness, wisdom, and values; personal autonomy and the hive mind; cosmology, theology, story, existence, and non-existence. My favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with Joscha Bach are: "What is a model? A model is a set of regularities that we find in the world – the invariances like the Laws of Physics at a certain level of resolution, that describe how the world doesn’t change but is the same. [These are the things that remain constant.] And the state that the world is in. And once you combine these constants and the known state you can predict the next state of the world." "Intelligence is the ability to dream in a very focused way." As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/singularityfm

Faith Popcorn founded her futurist marketing consultancy in 1974. The New York Times has called her “The Trend Oracle” and according to Fortune Magazine she is “The Nostradamus of Marketing”. Faith is a trusted advisor to the CEOs of Fortune 200 companies and has predicted a variety of trends such as Cocooning and its impact on the COVID culture, Social Media, and The Metaverse. She has been invited to speak all over the planet and is the best-selling author of four books. Finally, in her own words, Faith is a jew educated at a Christian School, a Caucasian who grew up among Asians, a 6th generation New Yorker and the adopted mother of 2 girls from China. During our 2-hour conversation with Faith Popcorn, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as why she is the Cassandra of our era; her unique background and upbringing; the origins of her Faith Popcorn name; futurism, misogyny and gender equality; her mission to bring a vision of what’s coming; saving the planet and the trends to pay attention to; her client cases like Campbell Soup, Kodak, Coke, Pepsi, Tyson Foods and others; male vs female leaders; Futurism vs Applied Futurism; why the future is vegan; why the biggest shifts are in humanity, not in technology; trend recognition, utilization, and creation; AI and the singularity. My favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with Faith Popcorn are: The peole who are making today cannot make tomorrow. "Futurism doesn’t come from the past." You can watch the full video here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/faith-popcorn/

Dr. Kendall Haven is the only West Point graduate to ever become a professional storyteller. Haven holds a Doctorate in Oceanography and spent eight years as a Senior Research Scientist for the Department of Energy before finding his true passion for what he calls, a very different kind of “truth.” Kendall is the author of 34 books but the 2 most relevant to our conversation today are Story Proof: the Science behind the Startling Power of Story which pioneered and reported on some of the first neuroscientific studies of the Brain on Story. And was later followed by Story Smart: Using the Science of Story to Persuade, Inspire, Influence, and Teach. Finally, Kendall Haven has performed for audiences of over 5 million people for the past four decades and has been appointed as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Stanford University. During our 2 1/2 hour conversation with Kendall Haven, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as why stories are like famous chess games; the problem with reading scientific reports; going to West Point, doing a Ph.D. in oceanography, and becoming a storyteller; how he discovered the power of story and a very different kind of truth; memory, information, and story; Story Proof and the science behind it; our most powerful tool and why we are Homo narrative; how information is story-processed before it gets to the conscious mind; the definition of story; whether storytelling has a bad reputation; why reframing the story, and not more information, is the way to change behavior; why change stories are about preservation; the need for ReWriting the Human Story; the danger that story can become a universal hammer for all nails. My favorite quote that I will take away from this conversation with Kendall Haven is this: "Story is not theoretical anymore. It’s not hyperbole. Story is woven into our DNA. We are story. That’s now science." You can watch the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/kendall-haven/

Brian Boyd is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His work has appeared in 20 languages and has won awards on four continents. Most importantly, Prof. Boyd is the author of On the Origin of Stories which examines the connections between evolution, cognition, and fiction. During our 2-hour conversation with Brian Boyd, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as how Brian fell in love with story; the definition of story; Heider and Simmel’s triangle movie; the evolutionary origins of story in humans and other species; why Brian defines art as “cognitive pattern play”; the AI frame problem; religion as perhaps the most powerful and popular story; Jonah Sach’s “Myth Gap” and the importance of the image of the future; science, values, and story; the human story; the limits of universal explanations; social media as a misguided attempt to control our story; Karl Popper’s views on science, stories, and revolutions. You can watch the full video recording of the interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/brian-boyd/

John Smart has taught and written for over 20 years on topics like foresight and futurism as well as the drivers, opportunities, and problems of exponential processes throughout human history. John is President of the Acceleration Studies Foundation, co-Founder of the Evo-Devo research community, and CEO of Foresight University. Most recently, Smart is the author of Introduction to Foresight, which in my view is a “one-of-a-kind all-in-one instruction manual, methodological encyclopedia, and daily work bible for both amateur and professional futurists or foresighters.” During our 2-hour conversation with John Smart, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as the biggest tech changes since our 1st interview; machine vs human sentience; China's totalitarianism and our new geostrategic global realignment; Citizen's Diplomacy, propaganda, and the Russo-Ukrainian War; foresight, futurism and grappling with uncertainty; John's Introduction to Foresight; Alvin Toffler's 3P model aka the Evo-Devo Classic Foresight Pyramid; why the future is both predicted and created despite our anti-prediction and freedom bias; Moore's Law and Accelerating Change; densification and dematerialization; definition and timeline to general AI; evolutionary vs developmental dynamics; autopoiesis and practopoiesis; existential threats and whether we live in a child-proof universe; the Transcension Hypothesis. My favorite quote that I will take away from this interview with John Smart is: "We must learn to see how physics, chemistry, biology, human culture, and technology are each catalysts for new evolutionary freedoms and new evolutionary constraints, at the same time. We must also guard against both overly free and overly determined models of the future. It is easy to get out of this evo-devo balance, and oversimplify reality." Exponential Progress: Thriving in an Era of Accelerating Change, page 517 To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/singularityfm

Jonah Sachs is an author, speaker, and viral marketing pioneer. He helped create some of the world’s first and most heralded digital social change campaigns. Jonah Sachs is also the author of Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future and, most recently, Unsafe Thinking: How to be Nimble and Bold When You Need it Most. During our 2-hour conversation with Jonah Sachs, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as why stories are the root of who we are; the Story of Stuff, the Meatrix and Grocery Store Wars; the definition of story, and the top 5 markers of a great one; Winning the Story Wars; the hero’s journey; cultural relativism and finding the common space we can build on; the pros and cons of our current human story; AI, GPT3, and 2 Turing Tests; the poison and cure of story and the Buddhist test of suffering. My favorite quote that I will take away from this interview with Jonah Sachs is: Storytelling is the neglected secret weapon we all have As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/singularityfm

Many of you know that I’ve been working on a new book provisionally titled ReWriting the Human Story: How Our Story Determines Our Future. And so I thought it could be useful to me and interesting to you if I were to have a conversation with a few story experts and ask them questions such as why story, what is story and, perhaps most importantly, how does it relate to technology, AI, being human and our future. My guest today is Will Storr. Will is an award-winning writer, journalist, and storyteller. He’s the author of six books, including the Sunday Times bestseller The Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better. During our 2-hour conversation with Will Storr, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as why we should care about story and the definition thereof; why the brain is a storyteller and a hero maker; Yuval Harari’s claim that we are moving towards unification rather than diversity [or as I put it badly – “we have fewer stories than before”]; science, religion, technology, and story; status and the ways we pursue it; the freedom to choose our own story; ReWriting the Human Story. My favorite quote that I will take away from this interview with Will Storr is: "We’re not gods, we’re just storytelling animals." You can see the full video recording here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/will-storr/

Many of you know that I am a fan of Buddhism in general and Zen Buddhism in particular. So I’ve always wanted to get a Zen Master on the podcast. I never imagined, however, that there is a Zen Master who has listened to almost every episode of my show. But the universe is a weird place and it turns out there is such a person. Roshi Jundo is a former Newyorker, lawyer, husband, father of 2, cancer survivor, and Japanese Soto Zen Master. He is the founder of the Tree Leaf Sanga and co-host of the Zen of Everything Podcast. Jundo is also the author of The Zen Master’s Dance: A Guide to Understanding Dogen and Who You are In the Universe as well as an upcoming book provisionally titled Building the Future Buddha: The Kōan of Robots, Genes, Saving the World and Travelling to the Stars. During our 2-hour conversation with Jundo Cohen, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as the story of how a Jewish kid from the Bronx became a Zen Master in Japan; Buddhism and Zen Buddhism; oneness, wholeness, and the illusion of separation; whether we are living in a simulation; why the world is both perfect and imperfect; moderation, compassion, simplicity, desire and excess; dealing with pain and discomfort; why acceptance is not giving up; the wave as a manifestation of the sea; artificial meat, modifying the human genome and other tech solutions to our problems; David Pearce’s Hedonistic Imperative; the singularity, AI and Transhumanism. Check out this link to see the full video recording of this interview: https://www.singularityweblog.com/jundo-cohen/

Prof. Angus Fletcher is a story scientist working at the intersection of story and neuroscience. Angus started as a neuroscientist at the University of Michigan but eventually decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Shakespeare at Yale. Then he went to Stanford University and worked with clients in Hollywood, DARPA, and the US special forces. Angus is the author of Wonderworks and the upcoming Storythinking. He has become known for coming up with proof that computer AI lacks the physical hardware to replicate human creativity, let alone innovate or plan to take over the world. During our 2-hour conversation with Angus Fletcher, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as what computer science is all about; why a neuro/scientist should study literature; why the brain is not a computer; what a Shakespeare Ph.D. can teach/consult DARPA and Spec Ops on; literature as a tool to heal and grow your brain; building a story machine that can establish cause-effect narratives; why story is the operating system of the brain; literature as the engine of science; the mission of Project Narrative; my definition of story; computer vs human creativity; the singularity and transhumanism story; Jonah Sach’s myth-gaps as the greatest leadership opportunity to ReWrite the Human Story; growth as the ability to change our minds; why multiplicity is better than a singularity; humanism and AI-ism. You can see the full video interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/angus-fletcher/

This is the second interview of my series on story and my guest is PJ Manney. PJ is the author of the Phoenix Horizon Trilogy and has already been a guest on Singularity.FM twice before. [See our 1st and 2nd interviews.] She is a friend, and I am a big fan of her books. Today we are going to touch on the last book of her trilogy – (CON)Science and will discuss what PJ calls the New Mythos, and what I refer to as ReWriting the Human Story. During our 2-hour conversation with PJ Manney, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as the genesis and purpose of The New Mythos; Aristotle’s story structure and hero’s journey; Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s concept of the Noosphere as a metaphor of the new mythos; the definition of story and why it is to us like water is to fish; Future Shock, complexity and Jonah Sach’s “myth gaps”; the poison and cure of story and science; ethics, our frame of reference and the powers of 10; the human story and the dangers thereof; Yucky Gets Yummy: How Speculative Fiction Creates Society; (CON)Science and PJ’s upcoming 14 stories on the Axial Age. Check out this link if you want to see the full video of this interview: https://www.singularityweblog.com/pj-manney-new-mythos/

Some of you may know that I’ve been working on a new book. The provisional title is ReWriting the Human Story: How Our Story Determines Our Future. Struggling with this book is why it’s been a number of months since my last podcast interview. And so I thought it could be useful to me and interesting to you if I were to have a conversation with a few story experts and ask them questions such as why story, what is story and, perhaps most importantly, how does it relate to technology, AI, being human and our future. Today is the first interview of this series and my guest is Lisa Cron. Lisa is the author of Story or Die and Wired for Story which is also the title of her fantastic TEDx talk you can see under her bio below. During this 2.5-hour interview with Lisa Cron, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: why story; the definition of story; why our biology shows we are wired for story; story as a virtual reality simulator; consciousness and story; the boomerang effect of scientific evidence; the only way of walking into someone’s shoes; language, emotion, and the patriarchy; the cure and poison of story; if or how social media is hacking story; the story of AI, democracy, and humanity; ReWriting the Human Story. You can watch the full video of the interview here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/lisa-cron/

"Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest – forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of other centuries." Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism "Power over the rules is real power. That’s why lobbyists congregate when Congress writes laws, and why the Supreme Court, which interprets and delineates the Constitution — the rules for writing the rules — has even more power than Congress. If you want to understand the deepest malfunctions of systems, pay attention to the rules and to who has power over them." Donella H. Meadows, Thinking in Systems Politics is the story of rules. The rules of how we live and do things together. It frames and regulates the relationships among people. It is the foundation on which we transcend being individuals and become a community, a tribe, a nation, or a civilization. It is what allows humanity to be more than the sum of its parts. That is why we might get all other stories right but if we get politics wrong we are unlikely to survive as a civilization, perhaps even as a species. And sooner or later all stories become political. Take technology. Technology drives change. And, by definition, change turns the world upside down. So it takes a blue-blood nobleman and turns him into a pauper. It takes a king and makes him a ceremonial figurehead with no real power. It takes a shepherd and makes him a laborer, a member of the middle-class, or, occasionally, a capitalist. And so, in the end, technology, as a bringer of change, is about politics. Read the rest here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/politics-story/

"Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes." Edsger Dijkstra "When looms weave by themselves, man’s slavery will end." Aristotle "Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended." Vernor Vinge, 1993 Today we are entirely dependent on machines. So much so, that, if we were to turn off machines invented since the Industrial Revolution, billions of people will die and civilization will collapse. Therefore, ours is already a civilization of machines and technology because they have become indispensable. The question is: What is the outcome of that process? Is it freedom and transcendence or slavery and extinction? Our present situation is no surprise for it was in the relatively low-tech 19th century when Samuel Butler wrote Darwin among the Machines. There he combined his observations of the rapid technological progress of the Industrial Revolution and Darwin’s theory of evolution. That synthesis led Butler to conclude that intelligent machines are likely to be the next step in evolution: "…it appears to us that we are ourselves creating our own successors; we are daily adding to the beauty and delicacy of their physical organisation; we are daily giving them greater power and supplying by all sorts of ingenious contrivances that self-regulating, self-acting power which will be to them what intellect has been to the human race. In the course of ages we shall find ourselves the inferior race." Samuel Butler developed further his ideas in Erewhon, which was published in 1872: "There is no security against the ultimate development of mechanical consciousness, in the fact of machines possessing little consciousness now. A mollusk has not much consciousness. Reflect upon the extraordinary advance which machines have made during the last few hundred years, and note how slowly the animal and vegetable kingdoms are advancing. The more highly organized machines are creatures not so much of yesterday, as of the last five minutes, so to speak, in comparison with past time." Similarly to Samuel Butler, the source of Ted Kaczynski’s technophobia was his fear that: "… the human race might easily permit itself to drift into a position of such dependence on the machines that it would have no practical choice but to accept all of the machines decisions. As society and the problems that face it become more and more complex and machines become more and more intelligent, people will let machines make more of their decisions for them, simply because machine-made decisions will bring better result than man-made ones. Eventually a stage may be reached at which the decisions necessary to keep the system running will be so complex that human beings will be incapable of making them intelligently. At that stage the machines will be in effective control. People won’t be able to just turn the machines off, because they will be so dependent on them that turning them off would amount to suicide." The Unibomber Manifesto As noted at the beginning of this chapter, humanity has already reached the machine dependence that Kaczynski was worried about. Contemporary experts may disagree on when artificial intelligence will equal human intelligence but most believe that in time it likely will. And there is no reason why AI will stop there. What happens next depends on both the human story and the AI story. Read the rest here: https://www.singularityweblog.com/ai-story/